অধ্যায় একশত চৌত্রিশ: ইউয়াও

কing weihe let out a long breath, finally regaining his composure, and looked at the girl standing right in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest. She had a crisp short haircut, a sleek leather jacket, skinny jeans hugging her long, slender, straight legs, and black Martin boots on her feet. Her features were delicate yet sharp, and her expression was entirely filled with disdain and mockery.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to explain, a slightly angry voice of another girl came from the other side of the corridor, "Who on earth are you? What do you think you're doing openly seducing my boyfriend?" Yu Yao clicked her high heels, walked over quickly with clacking steps, and grabbed Qin Weihe's arm tightly to display her sense of ownership.

The short-haired girl let out a sneer, casting a cold glance at the ignorant girl who was so fiercely defending her man. Her eyes were filled with such frivolity and greed that it was no wonder others treated her like a fool; the old saying about not arguing with fools certainly held true.

She turned around to leave, but Yu Yao grabbed her arm instead, "I'm talking to you! You think you can just walk away after seducing someone else's boyfriend? I've never seen someone so shameless. What does it feel like to be a homewrecking mistress? You even come running to hook up with people proactively?"

"Let go," the short-haired girl said coldly, looking straight at Yu Yao.

"Let go of her," almost at the exact same time, Qin Weihe grabbed Yu Yao's arm, his expression equally cold and carrying a faint trace of anger.

Yu Yao was stunned and frightened. She turned her head to look at Qin Weihe's gloomy face, a wave of grievance welling up inside her. She let go of his arm and ran away crying.

"Aren't you going to chase after her?" The short-haired girl patted the spot on her clothes where Yu Yao had grabbed her. "Birds of a feather flock together." With that, she curled her lips in utter contempt.

Unlike Luo Qi, Qin Weihe had never dealt with this type of girl before! Given his social status, most of the women around him were submissive, accommodating, and fawned over him. The only person who didn't act like that—and even beat him up—was Brother Song. Now that he had run into another one, he felt this was truly fate.

"There is a bit of a misunderstanding and a story behind all this, and she is not my girlfriend. If you're interested, we can become friends. My name is Qin Weihe." When Qin Weihe was being serious, he completely lacked that playboy aura; instead, he looked much more like a young master from a prestigious noble family. Of course, he didn't just look like one—he actually was one.

The short-haired girl had zero interest in hearing any stories from the mouth of this promiscuous playboy. She didn't even spare him a glance, turned on her heel, and walked away.

Qin Weihe curved the corners of his lips. She certainly had quite a fiery temper.

After the girl had walked far away, Qin Weihe nonchalantly went to the Louis Vuitton store to buy a new limited-edition bag, then carried it down to the underground parking garage.

Sure enough, Yu Yao was standing by his car. Seemingly noticing the sound of Qin Weihe's footsteps, she started letting out fake, pitiful whimpering noises, putting on a terribly pretentious act.

With acting skills like yours, you would definitely bomb in the entertainment industry. Look at me—can you even tell that my acting is fake?!

"Alright, alright, I don't even know that girl. Why did you start cursing her the moment you walked up? Aren't you making a fool of yourself acting like a shrew? People in our circle do not act like that," Qin Weihe comforted her, his tone half-angry and half-admonitory.

Well, not that there weren't any exceptions—Tang Ge was one. But Tang Ge's shrewishness was directed solely at Song Ci; in everyone else's eyes, she was the epitome of a poised and elegant young lady from a wealthy family. Ah, how things had changed.

Yu Yao's crying paused abruptly. "You still had no right to snap at me. And you did it right in front of another woman, completely robbing me of any dignity."

"Didn't I buy you a bag to apologize? Here, the newest Louis Vuitton model, globally limited edition," Qin Weihe said, handing over the shopping bag. To him, spending a bit of money to smooth things over was much simpler than using his brain to coax someone, and at least the vast majority of women fell for this trick.

Sure enough, Yu Yao stopped her fake crying. Probably for the sake of saving face, she feigned anger, "Do you really think I got mad just over a bag? What kind of person do you take me for, Brother Weihe?!"

Qin Weihe thought to himself: If you had even an ounce of kindness in you, you wouldn't be able to eat, drink, and live so carefree as if nothing happened after framing Shen Qianzhi. No, anyone with a shred of conscience would feel guilty, uneasy, and panicked, but you—you feel nothing at all.

Keeping a poker face, he coaxed her, "Alright, alright, I bought the bag just to apologize to you. We can count your birthday gift separately, how about that?" Of course, this money would have to be charged to Brother Song's tab, since she was wealthier than he was anyway.

"Since you've apologized, I'll forgive you then. After all, I am a kind and considerate girl," Yu Yao wiped away non-existent tears and broke into a smile. "Brother Weihe, do you have any plans for tonight?"

"None. Do you have anything in mind?" Not having received any instructions from Song Ci yet, Qin Weihe didn't dare to act rashly for fear of ruining Song Ci's plan.

"Then how about we have a party at my place? My friends really want to get to know you too. Do you mind?" Yu Yao shook the arm of Qin Weihe that she was holding onto. "They all admire you so much." In truth, she was hoping to use Qin Weihe as a stepping stone to mingle with the upper crust of the capital's social circle—this was a rare opportunity indeed.

Qin Weihe secretly frowned. "I'm not really fond of that kind of gathering."

Does this woman take me for a fool? Go socialize with a bunch of low-class troublemakers? One of you is already driving me crazy; a whole group of you is trying to drag me down to my death?

Yu Yao's expression dimmed, and this time her tears were real, streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms. "Brother Weihe, this is my only birthday wish."

Suppressing his surging annoyance and impatience, Qin Weihe gave a reluctant, tearful agreement, "Just this once." Sigh, life was so difficult.

"Thank you, Brother Weihe, you're the best!" Yu Yao's cloudy mood instantly cleared up into a sunny smile. Taking advantage of Qin Weihe's silence, she planted a kiss on his cheek, her eyes swimming with affection. "I knew Brother Weihe was the best."

Qin Weihe was left utterly dumbfounded by the sudden kiss. What kind of move was this? It was so disgusting—could he wipe it off?! Suppressing his intense discomfort, he managed to say, "Of course."

The spot on his face where Yu Yao had kissed felt sticky and burning, as if thousands of ants were crawling over it, making him nauseous and sick to his stomach. He had interacted with so many women, but never had one made him feel as repulsed as Yu Yao did.

The two of them linked arms and headed back into the mall. After swiping his card for a few more outfits and shoes for Yu Yao, the girl finally left the mall fully satisfied.

At lunchtime, Qin Weihe took Yu Yao to the most luxurious restaurant in the capital. Taking advantage of the time Yu Yao spent in the restroom, Qin Weihe hurriedly called Song Ci to vent: "Brother Song, when are you planning to deal with her? I really can't take it anymore; this is worse than death."

"In a couple more days," Song Ci was still considering her options. She felt that her initial plan had too many loopholes and could accidentally drag Qin Weihe and the others down; Yu Yao simply wasn't worth sacrificing so many people to accompany her downfall.

Hanging up the phone miserably, he looked up and once again saw the short-haired girl with a look of utter disdain. Qin Weihe managed a smile, "Oh, what a coincidence."

"Talk about running into bad luck," the short-haired girl rolled her eyes. How could she run into this person no matter where she went? His smiling face was just begging to be punched. Suppressing the urge to beat him up, the short-haired girl walked over to her table with a cold expression.

Qin Weihe raised an eyebrow, following the girl's trajectory with his gaze, only to see her sitting alone at a table by the window. Tsk, dining alone.

Without giving it much more thought, Yu Yao returned.

Perhaps because Qin Weihe had agreed to go to her place for a party that evening, or perhaps because she intended to take her relationship with Qin Weihe a step further and truly become his girlfriend, her face wore a poised and blissful smile.

Throughout the meal, Qin Weihe felt a creeping sense of dread. He had an ominous premonition that something was going to happen tonight.

As night fell, sensing a hint of danger, Qin Weihe sent the address to Song Ci, hoping she could pull him out if he found himself in a tight spot.

Song Ci replied concisely and clearly: "Received."

His mind somewhat at ease, Qin Weihe drove all the way to the outskirts beyond the fifth ring road. This desolate countryside made his entire body feel uncomfortable.

"Right there, they've all arrived," Yu Yao pointed with her finger toward a standalone small villa. A few men were standing at the entrance smoking cigarettes.

Almost involuntarily, Qin Weihe frowned. Birds of a feather flock together; as expected, one couldn't hope for Yu Yao's friends to be of any high caliber.

When the casually dressed men saw Qin Weihe's Ferrari sports car, they subconsciously let out low whistles, squinting as they tossed away their cigarette butts.

Seemingly hearing the roar of the sports car engine, a few scantily clad girls walked out of the villa, all dressed up flashily. Yu Yao, stepping out of the car first with a smug look on her face, hurried over to their group and cast a shy glance back at Qin Weihe, who was still parking the car.

Qin Weihe desperately wanted to turn around and drive away. He simply couldn't tolerate interacting with such low-tier people; the word "gold-digger" was practically branded into the eyes of this entire group.

Biting the bullet and getting out of the car, Qin Weihe spotted a Porsche 911 amidst the lineup of ordinary vehicles and secretly raised an eyebrow. Could Yu Yao actually have some wealthy friends after all?

Clinging to this thought, Qin Weihe was welcomed into the villa like the moon surrounded by stars. Yu Yao clung tightly to Qin Weihe's arm to stake her claim while smilingly telling the women around her, "He only came to hang out with you guys to give me face. Normally, people beg just to catch a glimpse of Brother Weihe and can't even do that."

Yu Yao wasn't lying about this. Xingchen Entertainment, run by Qin Weihe, was thriving, and he was usually swamped with countless social events, parties, and banquets. It was only because Song Ci's clout—or rather, the massive favor she owed—was big enough that Qin Weihe had been able to put his career on hold and focus entirely on setting a trap for Yu Yao.

"Who doesn't know that you're the most charming one here? We're so jealous of you," the other girls exchanged glances, their eyes filled with the exact same disdain. To think she had already fooled around with Wu Junfeng and still dared to harbor delusions about Qin Xiaoshao, one of the Four Young Masters of the Capital—she must have used up all her good karma.

Yu Yao smiled smugly. She had already planned to let something happen between her and Qin Weihe tonight; at the very least, her status as this young master's girlfriend needed to become official.

The three or four men following behind them also wore meaningful smiles. It looked like Yu Yao was playing for keeps this time; exchanging glances, they understood each other's intentions.

The group, each harboring their own hidden agenda, entered the villa. Qin Weihe spotted Su Su sitting on the sofa surrounded by two other girls almost immediately. A flash of mockery crossed his upturned phoenix eyes, and he changed direction, walking over to sit on the sofa furthest away from Su Su.

As if completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere between the two of them, Yu Yao smiled and introduced them to Qin Weihe, "These three are my college classmates. That one is Su Su, the younger sister of Su Zhe from the Su family, and the other two are called Liu Sheng and Qian Yiyi."